9. MAYER

Tootle Tree

 WILLIAM MAYER and JANE (9)

 WILLIAM MAYER was the father of Mary Meyer, who married Isaac Kirkham in Leek. From the date of the baptism of his first child we should expect William to be born around 1733. There is a convincing baptism for him in Horton, where he raised his own children.

Baptism. Horton.
1734 Mar 31  William son of Thomas and Margaret Mayer.

William was the second of six children. He had an older brother, three sisters and a younger brother. None of them seems to have died in infancy.

His parents moved frequently between the baptisms of their children, making it likely that his father was an agricultural labourer, often on yearly hirings.

 

JANE. We have not found the marriage of William and Jane, and so we do not know her maiden name, or which parish she came from.

 

Their wedding must have taken place shortly before 1759.

William’s own parents moved from parish to parish, with Horton predominating. All the baptisms for William and Jane’s children took place in Horton. If he was an ag.lab, he may have had settled employment on a local farm, or he may have plied a trade. Hugh Mayer, who we believe may be his uncle, was a husbandman, farming a small amount of land. But he appears to be older than William’s father, and so may have been more advantageously placed.

Horton is a small village in Staffordshire. It stands on an eminence, three miles west of Leek, and six miles west of the Peak District.

Baptisms. St Michael and All Angels, Horton.
1759 Mar 11   William
1761 Feb 4   Mary  Daughr of Wm and Jane Mayer
1763 Mar 13  Jane
1765 Apr 7   Sarah
1767 Feb 1   Isaac

William and Jane died within a year of each other. Both were said to be of Parkhouse.

Burials. Horton.
1767 Oct 26  William Mayer of Parkhouse. William was 33.
1768 Apr 6   Jane Mayer of Parkhouse

William Yates’ map of Staffordshire in 1775 shows Park Wood House a little to the west of the village and just south of Horton Hay, where we find an early member of the Mayer family in 1666.

The children were left orphaned, aged from 9 to 1. It is possible that their uncle and aunt, Hugh and Jane Mayer, may have helped to raise them.

The youngest child Isaac died in 1789, aged 22. The p against his name in the burial register means that he was pauper. This may not tell us much about his parents’ status, and could well be because of their early death. Or the fact that he died so young may mean that he was in poor health and unable to support himself.

 

[1] http://places.wishful-thinking.org.uk/STS/Horton/StMichael.jpg